Here's What's Happening

Donald and Melania Trump are staying at the president's golfing resort in Turnberry, Scotland. He is there on a personal trip, and was filmed playing golf on Saturday morning as protesters shouted at him.

Crowds turned out on Saturday to protest across Scotland, including in Edinburgh, Dundee, and outside the Turnberry golf club.

On Friday 100,000 people rallied in London on Trump's first full day in the UK, which included a meeting with prime minister Theresa May to discuss Brexit and tea with the Queen at Windsor castle.

Trump will leave for Helsinki, Finland, on Sunday, where he is due to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Updates

Posted at
Jul. 15, 2018, at 14:01 PM

There were many strange things in an interview with the president by Piers Morgan.

Twitter

Swivelling chairs, presidential M&MS, and revealing the Queen's private thoughts (a big protocol no-no), there was a lot to take in from this interview, which is due to be shown on British TV on Monday night but was trailed in the Mail on Sunday.

At Turnberry, where the president was playing a round of golf, small groups of demonstrators lined the main road through the town, and gathered on the beach, shouting in Trump's direction.

Earlier, police told BuzzFeed News they were expecting up to 100,000 people to march through Edinburgh's streets, but officials later estimated the actual turnout to be 7,000. The organisers of the protest in Scotland's capital said the turnout was 30,000.

The Trump Baby blimp was unable to take flight over The Meadows as winds were too strong, but it spent several hours hovering above the ground.

Max Wakefield, one of the balloon's "babysitters" told BuzzFeed News, "It's a bit of a shame that we couldn't get him higher but we're glad we got him up a little bit."

"We had such an outpouring of enthusiasm from people up here who knew the orange tyrant was coming up to see them. "

"It was all a bit of a last-minute effort because we were all focused on London but we wanted to do as much as we could to meet the demand from people like us down south who abhor his racist, sexist politics and don't want him to ever come back."

Rowena Trotman joined part of the march despite being due to give birth in just three days.

"I just wanted to make a stand against somebody whose values I think are abhorrent," she said. I'm due in three days but I'm glad that I can make a show and stand together with other people from Scotland."

Film director Mark Cousins, who is from Northern Ireland but lives in Scotland, told BuzzFeed News that he was "appalled that this man even put foot on this soil."

"I've lived through Thatcher, I was brought up in Belfast, I've been in wars in Iraq, I've seen pretty bad things. I've made a film about the Holocaust, and this man is reminding me of Germany in the 1930s", he said. "It's that bad, I think."

Lindsay Gripton was marching with her mum Wendy Henderson and nine-month-old, Angus.

"We've got three generations walking today", she told BuzzFeed News. "It's the only thing that we can do peacefully to voice our concerns. I think it's really important that we make a stand in the most peaceful and respectful way possible."

"He just goes against everything I stand for. 'Hope, not hate' is really my view and I think he promotes hate in all sorts of ways."

She told BuzzFeed News she was here "to basically send a message that Trump is not welcome in Scotland."

"We're pro-immigration", she said, "and I think his politics are hateful, he's not welcome here.

"I think the queen and Theresa May are complicit in his hateful politics, by welcoming him in the way they did it sends out the wrong message. We won't roll out the red carpet in a progressive country like Scotland."

"It's important that Scottish people send their message to let him know he's not welcome."

Irene McFarlane, 66, said she'd followed Trump's progress "from the time when they were thinking about having him as a nominee."

"I watched it get closer and closer", she told BuzzFeed News, "and then the inevitable happened."

"Just everything about him I find completely alien to what humanity knows and what humanity would want. Everything we hear about him it's so utterly depressing and worrying and dangerous."

Beth Holmes, Natalie Akermi and Wajdi Akermi also joined the march.

"For me it's just about reminding our government that these policies aren't acceptable here", Holmes told BuzzFeed News. "I know they have to make trade deals, but we're speaking up for people that can't be heard and reminding our government that if they want to bring these politics here we will fight them."

Natalie added: "It's about making sure we don't go in that direction that Trump is taking America in."

—Hannah Al-Othman in Scotland

Posted at
Jul. 14, 2018, at 13:27 PM

President Trump was playing golf at his resort in Scotland on Saturday, amid chanting from protesters gathered outside.

A protester who flew over US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry Scottish golf course wants to keep a low profile after Scottish Police said they intended to trace the individual responsible.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Ben Stewart, a spokesperson for Greenpeace UK, said the paraglider, who is a long-standing Greenpeace activist, "would prefer to remain anonymous".

The group has claimed responsibility for the stunt which saw an activist enter the no-fly zone surrounding the resort while carrying a banner bearing the message "Trump: Well Below Par."

The paraglider flew three miles across the Ayrshire countryside at 9.30 p.m. on Friday evening, just minutes after Trump arrived at the course, before circling the lawn in front.

Greenpeace said it took measures to protect the paraglider by informing police officers at the site about the fly-past before it happened, as well as telephoning the police air incident advisor 10 minutes before.

Prestwick air traffic control was also alerted, they said.

"Trump has been ferried around Britain by helicopter like a western dignitary in Afghanistan, and shielded from the people of the country as much as possible," Stewart said. "We wanted to make sure that he received the message everyone was sending, in person."

"The police seem to have done a great job in facilitating the peaceful protests around the country, while keeping our American visitors safe, which is all as it should be," he continued. "As for what happens next, we’ll see."

– Ade Onibada

Posted at
Jul. 14, 2018, at 12:20 PM

Crowds of people took to the streets of Edinburgh to protest Trump's visit to the UK on Saturday.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Waving banners, placards and even effigies of the US president, protesters are making their way through the Scottish capital, passing the US Consulate en route.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

They'll end up at the meadows, a park south of the city centre, where the Tump Baby blimp is set to be launched once more into the sky.

I have arrived in Scotland and will be at Trump Turnberry for two days of meetings, calls and hopefully, some golf - my primary form of exercise! The weather is beautiful, and this place is incredible! Tomorrow I go to Helsinki for a Monday meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Protests are about to begin in the capital, Edinburgh, as well as in Dundee and at his Turnberry and Menie golf courses.

Speaking to BuzzFeed New outside Turnberry, Tracey Harvey from Ayr said: "We're here with the Green Party Dump Trump protesting against the xenophobia he's spreading. We don't want to see it sweeping over here.

"We want our weans (kids) and grandweans to grow up in a tolerant society that's not full of hate."

Prior to the short flight, Air Force One was held on the runway in London as the president sat down with morning television show host Piers Morgan for a 30-minute interview. Per the White House pool report, Morgan laughed when a AP reporter asked him how the interview had gone.

“We’re asserting our right to demonstrate, our right to free speech, and our want for a world that is not divided by misogyny, racism and hate," he said.

“It’s not about interfering in the affairs of another country. But when somebody on a global stage condemns Muslims because they’re Muslim, it’s not acceptable and we will call it out," he said, referring to the president's comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan in an interview with The Sun. “The elected Mayor of London, who is doing his job in uniting London in all its diversity, deserves praise and support not condemnation.”

"When we divide ourselves by xenophobia, when we divide ourselves by hatred, we all lose. When we united together, with common objectives, we can all win. Fundamentally, the message that goes out today is that we are united in our hope for a world of justice, not division. We’re united in our hope to end racism and misogyny. We’re united in hope.”

Corbyn also specifically called out Trump's withdrawal from the Paris accords and the ongoing family separation crisis at the United States border.

"Our environment is under threat. Lots of campaigners over many decades eventually brought many people together. And that culminated in the Paris Climate Change Accord, and I was there when it was made," he said. "There is no hiding place from foul air, from dirty seas, from polluted rivers. There’s no hiding place from the destruction of our natural world for any of us – unless we work together to protect it and protect the environment and that sustainability.

"So I don’t think anyone should be walking away from the Paris Climate Change Accord. When a government condemns children because they’re Mexican, Guatemalan or from somewhere else - and so ill treats them on the border, that is a breach of every international convention on rights of the child.”

—Emily Ashton

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 16:11 PM

Donald Trump arrived at Windsor Castle to meet the queen.

Chris Jackson / Getty Images

The US president was accompanied by his wife Melania, and they were greeted by music from the Coldstream Guards.

Trump himself was not in London when the march took place. He was at the prime minister's country residence, Chequers, earlier in the afternoon, followed by a visit to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen later on.

Smaller protests did pop up in Windsor, and in Berkshire where Chequers is located.

Trump refused to answer a question from a CNN reporter in a press conference with Theresa May.

Stefan Rousseau / PA Wire/PA Images

US President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Theresa May prior to a joint press conference at Chequers, her country residence in Buckinghamshire.

President Trump used the global stage to call an unfavored cable news network "fake news" on Friday, at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

During a question and answer session after both leaders had delivered short speeches, Jim Acosta of CNN attempted to ask the president about taxes but was cut off.

"That's fake news, I don't take questions from CNN, CNN is fake news, I don't take questions from fake news," he said.

Trump also criticized NBC after its reporter asked him about his forthcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the journalist "dishonest" and the network "possibly worse than CNN."

Trump then took a question from Fox News, which he called "a real network."

President Trump called the Sun "fake news." But the tabloid quoted him accurately.

Jack Taylor / PA Wire/PA Images

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May during a joint press conference following talks at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire.

US President Donald Trump has labeled Murdoch tabloid the Sun "fake news" for its publication of an exclusive interview, despite the newspaper conducting the interview on the record and accurately quoting him.

In a press conference alongside Theresa May at Chequers on Friday, Trump tried to contain the fallout after criticizing the prime minister's proposed Brexit deal, which had run in Friday's edition of the newspaper.

Audio of Trump's comments has also been published online since the interview went live. Later in the press conference, Trump was told the Sun's political editor was among the journalists gathered and went on to ask him whether he'd praised May during the interview.

Despite embarrassing Theresa May by bluntly talking down her latest Brexit plans in a bombshell newspaper interview this morning, President Trump just told a joint press conference with the prime minister that he in fact did not criticize her.

Jack Taylor / PA Wire/PA Images

US President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Theresa May prior to a joint press conference at Chequers, her country residence in Buckinghamshire.

Trump told the Sun that May's plan — which would involve the UK retaining close alignment to EU rules in some areas — would "kill" a US–UK trade deal.

But in a press conference at the prime minister's Chequers country retreat, when asked about whether he stood by these comments, he said: "I didn’t criticize the prime minister, I have a lot of respect for the prime minister.

"Unfortunately there was a story that was done and it was generally fine but it didn’t put in what I said about the prime minister. I said tremendous things."

Trump claimed that his team had recorded the interview and appeared to imply that the transcript would show a difference between what was printed and what was said.

"Fortunately we tend to record stories now so we have it, so we can have it for your enjoyment if you’d like it," he said. "We record when we deal with reporters, it’s called 'fake news'."

BuzzFeed News has asked the White House for a copy of this recording.

—Patrick Smith

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 12:39 PM

Thousands of people are marching through the streets of London in protest against Donald Trump's visit to the UK.

Yui Mok / PA Wire/PA Images

Protesters for the "Stop Trump" Women's March gather in London, as part of the demonstrations against the visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK.

The London march took place as Trump met with Prime Minister Theresa May, where they were expected to discuss international trade and Brexit.

Demonstrations in London follow a series of smaller protests at several of the key sites on Trump's UK itinerary, including Blenheim Palace, where Trump and his wife dined with the prime minister and senior government ministers last night, and the US Ambassador's house in Regent's Park where the Trumps are staying.

Many of the thousands of people already marching through central London against Trump are expat Americans.

Emily Dugan / Via BuzzFeed News

Carolyn Royan

Carolyn Royan, 48, came to London from Texas 22 years ago to work as an opera singer.

She told BuzzFeed News: “I’ve never been on a protest in my life. What brought me today is the utter shame that our president has brought on our nation. He’s a racist and a liar and I think he’ll soon be in jail.”

She was marching as part of the Bring the Noise women’s demonstration against the president, which started ahead of the main march to Trafalgar Square.

“I believe women and democracy will eventually bring him down. I believe in women’s rights and I’m frightened that the US is turning into Gilead from The Handmaids Tale.”

Emily Dugan / Via BuzzFeed News

Phil Burnham

Not far behind her was Phil Burnham, 75, who had a “Dump Trump” sign tucked into the band of his fedora.

Burnham has lived in London since 1970 after coming over from Pennsylvania. “He’s just a disaster for the American political system,” he said of the president.

“Apart from his general repugnant aspects, he’s racist and he’s such an egotist. It’s all about him.”

His wife, Jennifer Burnham, originally from California, added: “He’s a danger to the whole world.”

Emily Dugan / Via BuzzFeed News

Brannon Masters

Brannon Masters, 37, lives in Yampton, West Sussex. She came over from Oregon seven years ago after “meeting a lovely Englishman”. She was at the first protests in London when Trump was inaugurated and said she wanted to come again “for the people that Trump is working hard to silence.”

She added: “If I can be here and add to those making a racket I can and I should. His immigration policies are atrocious.”

Masters was marching with Marion Stone, 33, who is originally from Austria and lives in Surrey with her British husband. “We’re the dirty immigrants they want to get rid of with Brexit. He just stands for everything I hate.”

Many of the Britons who turned out were motivated by anger at Trump’s immigration policies.

Emily Dugan / Via BuzzFeed News

Che Ramsden

Che Ramsden, 29, from London, had brought her seven-month-old son, Joseph Nicholls, on his first protest.

“I think it’s really important. I would feel that way anyway but as a new mum to know that at the US border children his age are being separated from their parents, I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have him with me today,” she said.

Ramsden added, “I was born in South Africa and my first march was the peace march in 1990 when I was his age.”

—Emily Dugan

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 11:40 AM

Trump's jaw-dropping interview with the Sun has divided the Conservative party.

Jack Taylor / AFP / Getty Images

Some Conservative MPs have rallied round Theresa May, accusing Donald Trump of being unstatesmanlike and bad-mannered after he gave an extraordinary newspaper interview criticizing the prime minister.

"Where are your manners, Mr President?" tweeted Sam Gyimah, the UK's minister for higher education, after Trump's interview with the Sun threw the British government's painstakingly made plans into disarray.

However, Eurosceptics in May's party defended Trump's intervention and urged their prime minister to heed the president's warning that her softer new Brexit strategy will wreck the UK's chances of getting a free-trade deal with the US.

Priti Patel, who was a member of May's Cabinet until November, told BuzzFeed News: "The United States is our closest ally and the country we trade most with. As we leave the EU we need to establish a strong trading partnership with them but the comments from the president ... shows how difficult it will be to get that deal with the current proposals and Britain remaining as an EU rule-taker."

Donald Trump said the UK–US relationship is "very, very strong... very, very good," as he arrived at Chequers for a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

Trump's comments come after he told the Sun that May's Brexit plans could put him off doing a future trade deal with the UK, a suggestion the government has been keen to deflect this morning.

As Trump got out of his presidential limousine, known as "the Beast," he ignored reporters who shouted questions about whether he regretted his comments to the Sun, and if he would be raising those concerns with May.

Stefan Rousseau / AFP / Getty Images

Prior to Trump's visit to the UK, both he and May attended a NATO summit in Brussels where Trump made contentious demands on NATO countries to increase their defense spending.

But speaking to reporters once inside Chequers on Friday, he said the nations that comprise NATO had "never been more united."

He also talked about last night's dinner at Blenheim Palace — held as the Sun story broke — at which he appeared to have enjoyed May's company.

"We talked for an hour and a half and it was really something," he said.

—Laura Silver

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 10:51 AM

This teen has skipped school to protest over Trump's comments on immigration.

Rey Kumar, 14, has skipped classes to be at a mass anti-Trump march in central London where thousands of demonstrators are expected to gather.

Kumar told BuzzFeed News: “Trump is an absolute moron. I think he’s ruining politics. There’s an elegance and formality to politics that he doesn’t have. He tweets things that are idiotic.”

Emily Dugan for BuzzFeed News

Kumar moved to London with her parents from Delhi when she was 4. She now has British citizenship and is in Year 9 at Douay Martrys school in Ickenham, west London.

She says she has been going to anti Trump and anti-government protests since the most recent general election. "His hostility towards refugees and immigration in general annoys me most,” she said. “Migrants aren’t stealing jobs, they’re the backbone of every country.”

Her mother, Madhu Smita Kumar, said she was happy her daughter had missed school for the protest. “I’m very proud of her. She’s very politically minded so I encourage her to do what she feels like to make a difference in the world.”

Kumar was standing in Portland Place waiting for the march to start wearing a T-shirt which she bought with her pocket money, carrying the slogan: “Why be racist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just be quiet?"

She said she had tried but failed to find any classmates to join her. “I don’t think I could persuade 13-year-olds to join me. Or their parents.”

– Emily Dugan

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 10:31 AM

Melania Trump and Philip May have visited army veterans and local schoolchildren at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

First lady Melania Trump, accompanied by Philip May, meets schoolchildren and British Army veterans at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The partners of the US president and UK prime minister are scheduled to spend the day together in London while May and Trump discuss international trade and Brexit at Chequers.

Philip May usually refrains from taking part in public engagements but was said to be looking forward to entertaining the first lady of the US and had even bought a new suit for the occasion.

The pair were shown around the chapel at Chelsea by veterans, who are known as Chelsea Pensioners.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

They were joined by children from Saint George's Church of England Primary School, who made remembrance poppies.

Melania also made a poppy with the children, who she thanked for their help, according to the Press Association.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

The pair also played bowls on the green at Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Luca Bruno / PA Wire/PA Images

Melania will rejoin her husband in Windsor later where the Queen is due to host them for tea.

British human rights and anti-racist charities have raised strong concerns about Trump's assertion that the level of European immigration is "very, very sad" and that countries are losing their indigenous cultures as a result.

Will Oliver / AFP / Getty Images

The president's interview in the Sun on Friday morning made headlines for his blunt assessment of Theresa's May's latest Brexit proposals, but the president's comments on immigration and its effects have also caused outrage.

His remarks were described by anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate as the "coded words of white supremacy," while the director of Migrant Voice, which campaigns to raise the profile of the contribution of immigrants in the UK, said the comments would add fuel to far-right movements across Europe.

"I think what has happened to Europe is a shame. Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame," he told the paper.

"I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way."

He added: "So I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad.

"I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn’t exist 10 or 15 years ago."

Donald Trump’s comment about immigration and ‘losing our culture’ are the coded words of white supremacy. Far right groups have a long history of hiding their racism behind talk of ‘culture’ but with Trump, it’s hardly subtle.

Nazek Ramadan, the director of Migrant Voice, told BuzzFeed News: "To hear this is very worrying and concerning. Where are we heading to? It's not good because of the fuel it's given to the small number of extremists and racists, xenophobics, and fascists we see appearing across Europe.

"He's taking children away from their parents in the US and putting them in prison, before anyone hears their asylum [claim], against international convention, and if the president can hold these views and have these policies, what is happening to humanity?

Ramadan, who came to the UK from Lebanon in the 1980s, said: "He's taking babies away from their babies. Can the world not see what he's doing?"

She added that she would wait and see whether Theresa May had the courage to address and challenge Trump's comments in a press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Diplomacy was clearly the order of the day, with no official prepared to rock the boat.

One Downing Street source said: “We look forward to discussing our plan for Brexit with the president — he and the prime minister have been clear on the importance of a trade deal.”

But all eyes will be on Trump later as he takes to the microphone, to see if he will be as explicit in his opinions on Brexit and trade with the PM standing right next to him.

He and May will each make a short statement before taking questions from reporters in the manicured gardens of the mansion at 1:40pm.

Andrew Matthews / PA Wire/PA Images

Police man a roadblock close to the prime minister's country residence of Chequers in Buckinghamshire, where Theresa May is holding talks with US President Trump on the second day of his visit to the UK.

Journalists from the UK and US were brought here by coach from central London early on Friday morning, ahead of Trump’s arrival for private talks with May and new foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt at 11 a.m.

The narrow country lanes around the PM’s Buckinghamshire residence were packed with armed police officers and vans, with helicopters whirring overhead, as bemused local residents walked their dogs nearby.

The media was ushered into a big white marquee next to a vegetable patch, where the scene was promptly compared to a country wedding by several reporters.

—Emily Ashton

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 09:15 AM

Here's how British newspapers welcomed Donald Trump to the UK.

Daily Record, Daily Mirror

One story dominated British newspaper front pages on Friday morning: Donald Trump.

Trump gave an explosive interview to the Sun, where he criticized Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit, while other papers focused on a formal dinner May hosted for Trump and his wife at Blenheim Palace.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan granted protesters permission to fly the blimp in the capital, saying that he "supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms."

—Laura Silver

Posted at
Jul. 13, 2018, at 08:06 AM

The UK government is trying to salvage what it can from Trump's visit after the president rubbished Theresa May's Brexit compromise deal in a newspaper interview.

Geoff Pugh / AFP / Getty Images

Melania Trump, Donald Trump, and Theresa May stand on steps in the Great Court as they arrive for a black-tie dinner with business leaders at Blenheim Palace.

Blindsided by Trump's comments in the Sun this morning, an operation has begun to limit the damage caused by the president's comments, in which he said in no uncertain terms that May's softer version of Brexit would "kill" a UK–US free trade agreement.

Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan told the BBC's Today program on Friday that Trump's visit had been a success and that prime minister would "probably not" take any notice of the president's interview. The government, he said, would be "respectful and polite to our guest."

"Events have moved on somewhat because even as he was giving that interview the details of the [Brexit] white paper were being published," he said, "and the president and the prime minister will be able to discuss this later today with more information."

Duncan was adamant that Trump's comments hadn't scuppered the chances of a US deal: "I don't think that's the case. The mood last night was very positive... Once we have our agreement with the EU I'm confident we will have the latitude and ability to do a trade deal with the US."

The minister disagreed that the president's comments were rude: "Donald Trump is in many ways a controversialist, that's his style, that's the color he brings to the world stage. And he is in that sense very unconventional, but the mood last night at the Blenheim [Palace] dinner was very special.

"I think you're flogging this to death rather... We have welcomed President Trump here on a very special visit and today he will have these talks at Chequers, he will see our special forces in action, he will have tea with her majesty the Queen — these are things that only the UK can offer a president."

Trump blasted UK Prime Minister Theresa May in an interview during his first official visit

Hours after arriving on his first visit to the UK as president, Donald Trump was quoted sharply criticizing Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit, saying it could imperil any future trade deal with the US.

Trump reportedly made the comments — which are unprecedented for a visiting US head of state — during an interview with the British newspaper the Sun, in which he also praised one of May's rivals, said the mayor of London has done a "terrible job," and suggested Europe was "losing" its culture due to an influx of immigrants.

Trump's comments went public just hours after the prime minister urged the US president at a Blenheim Palace dinner to enter into a deal with the UK following Brexit.

But Trump told the Sun that May had been soft on the UK's exit from the European Union, adding: "I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it, but she didn't listen to me."

May urged Trump to enter into a significant trade deal after Brexit.

Theresa May used her speech at the Blenheim Palace dinner to try and persuade Donald Trump to consider an ambitious trade deal with the UK after Brexit.

Speaking to the president in front of about 100 business leaders, she pointed out that Britain was the largest investor in the US, providing nearly a fifth of all foreign investment in the country.

"Altogether, from Maine to Alaska, more than a million Americans work for British companies,” she said.

"Now, as we prepare to leave the European Union, we have an unprecedented opportunity to do more.

"It’s an opportunity to reach a free trade agreement that creates jobs and growth here in the UK and right across the United States.

"It’s also an opportunity to tear down the bureaucratic barriers that frustrate business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic."

—Emily Ashton

Posted at
Jul. 12, 2018, at 18:26 PM

Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside Blenheim Palace to coincide with Trump's attendance at a black-tie dinner with prime minister Theresa May.

Matt Cardy / Getty Images

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have arrived at Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, but they have been joined at the event by hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside in protest against Trump's policies.

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

Inside Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, Trump was welcomed with a military ceremony before having dinner with leaders of companies, such as Diageo and Maclaren, and senior government ministers including the newly instated foreign secretary.

The menu is said to include a Scottish salmon starter, followed by English beef fillet and vegetables, with strawberries and clotted cream ice cream.

– Elizabeth Pears

Posted at
Jul. 12, 2018, at 17:22 PM

Donald Trump follows a century-long line of US presidents meeting with the queen and British leaders.

Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

Prince Philip, Jacqueline Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, and President John F. Kennedy have a chat after dinner at Buckingham Palace.

Scottish police have refused to give permission to fly the giant Trump balloon when he visits this weekend.

Isabel Infantes / AFP / Getty Images

The balloon, which depicts the US president as a giant orange baby, is due to fly in London on Friday when Trump is due to meet prime minister Theresa May for bilateral talks on Russia, trade, Brexit, and Middle East.

But when Trump continues on to Scotland on Saturday, the baby will not take flight.

Despite having the support of more than 10,000 people, protesters request for permission to fly the balloon in Turnberry, where Trump has a hotel and golf course, was denied.

"Clearly there is a significant protection operation in place for the president and this includes restrictions to the airspace in the Turnberry area," Williams said.

"We need to ensure there is a balance between protection and public safety and the public's right to peacefully protest.

"With that in mind, and on this occasion, we are unable to grant permission for the balloon to fly in that area however, we are in discussion with the applicants about possible alternatives‎."

The balloon will fly near to the houses of parliament in London for two hours on Friday morning. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who Trump has publicly attacked on Twitter, said he "supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms".

But Khan's decision to allow this particular protest has been met with some criticism, with some calling it "embarrassing" and "cringeworthy".

– Laura Silver

Posted at
Jul. 12, 2018, at 15:57 PM

Downing Street has dismissed Donald Trump's claim that the Brexit plan was not what people voted for.

Tatyana Zenkovich / AFP / Getty Images

Theresa May

During an impromptu press conference at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday morning, held shortly before he departed for a four-day visit to the UK, Trump appeared to criticise Brexit plans agreed by the government at the prime minister's country residence, Chequers, last week.

The proposal, details of which were published today, has proved controversial, and led to the dramatic resignation of Brexit secretary David Davis and foreign secretary Boris Johnson who said May's vision for the UK after its departure from the European Union too closely resembled the current set-up.

But later on Thursday, a Downing Street spokesperson dismissed the remarks.

"The plan we set out at Checkers is absolutely what people voted for – taking back control of our laws, borders and money and with the freedom to strike our own trade deals round the world, including the US," the spokesperson said.

The proposal appears to avoid the "hard Brexit" that many who are more inclined to stay in the EU hoped to avoid and aims for a co-operative trade policy that would not require a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

– Laura Silver

Posted at
Jul. 12, 2018, at 14:17 PM

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Donald Trump was very welcome in Britain – and hit out at London mayor Sadiq Khan for allowing the baby blimp to be flown in London.

Ben Stansall / AFP / Getty Images

Addressing conservative think tank the Bow Group in parliament, Farage, who has long trumpeted his close links to Trump, said: "Whether you agree with his policies or not, the fact is that the relationship between Britain and America matters, and that's why this visit matters enormously."

He accused PM Theresa May of being too "politically correct", adding: "This should be a great opportunity, but we waited far too long to invite him; I mean, [French president] Macron made him guest of honour at Bastille Day – we've been very hands off about this invitation.

"And frankly, this prime minister has at every conceivable opportunity followed the politically correct pack in criticising Trump and his actions, so the special relationship is not in a very good place right here and now."

On the London mayor, he said: "Sadiq Khan is pursuing this vendetta against this president and the Republican administration, and he's quite prepared to put his own personal preference – or should we say prejudice – above what is clearly in the national interest and the interests of London as well.

"I can't imagine that any other capital city would have allowed this blimp to fly outside their parliament – it really is very childish, very silly."

— Emily Ashton

Posted at
Jul. 12, 2018, at 13:17 PM

US President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for a four-day trip that will include meeting the Queen and prime minister Theresa May.

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Trump landed at Stansted Airport just outside London just before 2pm on Thursday with his wife, Melania, and was greeted by international trade secretary Liam Fox.

He travelled on Air Force One from Brussels, where he had just finished an impromptu press conference at the 2018 NATO summit. It is the first time Trump has visited the UK since he became president.

Trade between the UK and US post-Brexit will be the government’s key focus in talks with Trump during the visit.

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Secretary of state for international trade Liam Fox.

On Thursday evening the Trumps will travel to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, for a dinner hosted by prime minister Theresa May. Fox, along with new foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, chancellor Philip Hammond, defence secretary Gavin Williamson, and transport secretary Chris Grayling, will attend the dinner on behalf of the government.

Representatives of leaders in British business, including Diageo and Maclaren, are also expected to attend.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

Speaking in Brussels earlier on Thursday, Trump said he looked forward to a warm welcome from the people of the UK, who he said he believed were fond of him. But he has already made life difficult for Theresa May by suggesting that her highly contentious Brexit plan was "not what people voted for".

While tonight’s formal dinner will begin with a military welcome ceremony, many members of the public are preparing to protest.

Demonstrations are due to take place over the next couple of days in London, Oxfordshire, and near the prime minister’s country residence, Chequers, in Berkshire, where May is due to meet with Trump on Friday.

Later on Friday, the Trumps will travel to Windsor for tea with the Queen. Protests are also expected there.